Jupiter's destruction could bring humans to a new civilization: What it's about

For mankind to move to a new evolutionary stage, earthlings need to switch from depleting their own planet to obtaining energy resources directly from the Sun. We are not talking about "green" energy or solar panels but about the construction of a giant Dyson sphere, which will surround our sun, intercepting its energy even before it begins its cosmic journey.

However, this generally good, albeit fantastic, plan has one big but. As science journalist Jaime Green writes, to build such a sphere, humanity would have to destroy a planet the size of Jupiter, which is the largest planet in our solar system.

What is Dyson's sphere?

The Dyson sphere is a conceptual megastructure proposed by physicist Freeman Dyson in 1960.

Dyson suggested that a truly advanced civilization would not engage in wind turbines and nuclear reactors, and would go further by completely encircling its home star to capture as much energy as possible.

According to the physicist's idea, in a close orbit to the star, it is necessary to create a spherical structure that absorbs all the energy of the star (in the case of Earthlings - the Sun) in order to capture the maximum amount of its energy.

Such a need, according to Dyson, sooner or later arises in every developing civilization, because planetary energy resources are limited and at some point are simply no longer able to meet the needs of civilization.

The sphere will not only help civilization to survive but will also provide resources for a new level of development. In particular, settlements on other planets of the system.

At the same time, Dyson's sphere doesn't have to be exactly spherical. It can be one wide ring or several thinner rings, within which there will be conditions for living.

There is also the option of creating a Dyson swarm, with many satellites flying around a star to capture its energy.

There are other options for Dyson spheres, some of which involve people living in or on the sphere, while others involve only the existence of a structure that collects energy.

The Destruction of Jupiter.

Green points out that the destruction of Jupiter is not some whim, but a simple necessity for humanity. The point is that people will need astronomical amounts of resources to build the Dyson sphere.

"If you want to get enough material to build such a thing, you will have to dismantle a planet, and not a small one, but one like Jupiter," Green wrote.

Dyson estimated the cost of his concept about the same. He also offered an idea of exactly how Jupiter could be destroyed. The astrophysicist suggested provoking an acceleration of its rotation that would cause Jupiter to literally start falling apart.

A New Civilization

If humanity on Earth built such a sphere, it would allow the transition from a Type I civilization to a Type II civilization on the Kardashev scale.

The scale, developed by astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev, was an attempt to create a classification system for hypothetical extraterrestrial civilizations.

It consists of three types:

• Type I: a technological level close to the level achieved on Earth;
• Type II: civilization capable of using energy emitted by its own star;
• Type II: civilization possessing energy on the scale of its own galaxy.

Simply put, instead of using Earth's finite energy, humanity will begin to use all the energy available from the star.

No Vandalism

Although the idea of the Dyson sphere is welcomed by the scientific community, the idea of destroying Jupiter is considered too radical by some.

In particular, astrophysicist Jason Wright said that just as people build a city, gradually expanding its boundaries to enormous proportions, Dyson's sphere could also be built.

"It was planned to some extent, but nobody ever said, 'Hey, let's build a huge city here. It was just each generation making it a little bigger," Wright said.

He suggests making the Dyson sphere a multi-generational project, each one making it bigger.

"If energy can be taken because it's going to go into space anyway, why not take it?" - Wright summarized.

Previously, OBOZREVATEL also told about scientifically sound options for the complete destruction of the Earth.

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